Wetlands in Wilderness

In India, like many Asian countries, wetlands are classified as wastelands. ‘‘The classification of wetlands as wasteland in this age is absurd. In Bharatpur, for instance, they are reservoirs of biodiversity and important to maintain water tables which is vital for agro-economics,’’ says Gopi Sundar, principal co-ordinator of the Delhi-based Indian Cranes and Wetlands Working Group.

The wetlands are ideal habitat for many birds including the sarus crane. ‘‘If the wetlands are converted into agricultural fields and the sarus crane’s natural habitat goes, its immediate effect would be increased antagonism between bird and man. This is what happened in Punjab and in Haryana where only 200 birds are left,’’ says Sundar. At present, the sarus and farmers live in relative harmony. Seen as a symbol of fidelity, killing a sarus is seen as inviting misfortune in these parts. The region’s birds have the distinction of being documented by A O Hume, founder of the Indian National Congress.

THIS is not the first threat to the region’s wetlands. In 2002 the Wildlife Trust of India had filed a PIL in the Allahahad High Court, arguing that the World Bank project implemented by the UP Bhumi Sudhar Nigam was making channels that cut across wetlands, draining them in the process.

The High Court had asked the state to ensure that the wetlands were not damaged. But says Sundar the threat to the wetlands has not gone away. If the rivers are deepened, it will mean that the adjoining wetlands will be at a greater height then the river and so water from them will drip down, eventually drying them out.

Already, the Kudaiya wetland in Mainpuri that earlier saw a congregation of about 250 birds is increasingly being reduced. The Ambarpur wetland disappeared even before the High Court intervention.

‘‘We have told the concerned department to ensure that no harm is done to the sarus crane’s habitat,’’ says Mohammad Ehsan, chief wildlife warden, UP.

The main component of the $286 million project, first commissioned in 1998, was to convert about 15,000 hectares of saline wasteland into agriculture land in the state. It brought hope to about 5,500 farmers in the state. But in some areas of Etawah and Mainpuri, the promise has sprouted few results.

Under this project, saline wasteland is sprayed with gypusm, flooded with water, letting it leach before draining it out after about ten days. Madho Singh’s farm in Ninawah village in Mainpuri is a parched wasteland of dreams. Two years ago he implemented the project. A year later he has abandoned it finding it unsustainable. And the cracks in his wasteland shine resistantly in the harsh Mainpuri sun.

‘‘We got the gypsum free for a year and some borewells were dug. After a year we stopped it because we could’t afford the diesel to run the borewells. My land is now even more barren,’’ he says.

If the wetlands lose their water and the wastelands continue to go thirsty, for Etawah and Mainpuri it will be a double blow.